Allwyn, the incoming licensee for the Fourth National Lottery Licence, has unveiled its comprehensive plan to assist National Lottery retailers ahead of the changeover scheduled for February 1, 2024. 

National Lottery Retailers to Transfer Agreements to Allwyn by December 2023

Under the existing arrangements, all Retailer Agreements are signed with Camelot. However, with Allwyn set to assume operating duties, retailers will need to transfer their agreements electronically to Allwyn by December 18, 2023. This process will enable them to continue offering National Lottery services without any interruption.

Allwyn will assist National Lottery retailers in electronically transferring their agreements through an online portal, while Camelot Retail Sales Executives will visit retailers to explain key changes and address queries before signing the new agreements.

The new Retailer Agreement will maintain commission levels for National Lottery Draw-Based Games, Scratchcards, and prize payments at the current rates. Payment terms for all games will also remain unchanged. Furthermore, bonds and Direct Debit mandates already established with Camelot will be automatically transferred to Allwyn.

Katharine Challinor, Allwyn’s Retail Director, expressed gratitude to National Lottery retailers for their continued support and acknowledged the significant role they play in raising £30 million ($38.7 million) every week for Good Causes across the UK.

Allwyn and Camelot Forge Detailed Timeline for National Lottery Transition

Allwyn and Camelot have created a detailed six-month timeline for a smooth transition. It includes ongoing site surveys by Momentum In-store until September’s end. There will also be pre-planned Lotto and EuroMillions event draws, and exciting National Lottery Christmas activities, including festive Scratchcards and special event draws, to sustain The National Lottery’s strong performance during the Third License period.

After the Agreement transfer deadline on December 18, retailers can anticipate receiving a ‘Welcome to Allwyn’ pack in the New Year. The pack will contain more information about the changes expected from February 1, 2024, including initial details about new and improved National Lottery games starting in March 2024. Retailers will also receive information about the required digital training ahead of the changeover.

With Allwyn poised to assume the National Lottery duties following the ten-year license awarded by the UK Gambling Commission in September 2022, the company has fully acquired the business of the current license holder, Camelot UK. Camelot has been the sole operator of the National Lottery since its inception in 1994, winning all three of the previous license contests. 

Additionally, in March, Allwyn successfully acquired the Camelot Lottery Solutions Group, solidifying its position as a leading brand in Europe and marking its entry into the US market. Allwyn has also set its sights on acquiring a majority stake in the Irish national lottery, aiming to solidify its presence across the British Isles.

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The 80% is more specifically 81.4% and represents the sum of €1.58bn even with the company’s[ UK results falling nearly 2% to €1.01bn.

Explaining the rapid jump in numbers, a company statement read: “In Q1 2023, we completed the acquisitions of Camelot UK, the current operator of the UK National Lottery, and Camelot LS Group, the current operator of the Illinois Lottery under a private management agreement. These acquisitions have a significant impact on consolidated metrics of the Group and comparability with previous periods.”

Most Markets Up

Most markets were up for the provider with Italy falling a scant 0.6% while Greece and Cyprus together saw a 14.6% increase to €552.9m, Austria contributing €388.4m, (+19.3%) and home base the Czech Republic producing €125.4m, an increase of 17.2%.

Allwyn CEO, Robert Chvatal commented: “I am pleased to report that Allwyn had a strong start to the year, reflecting our ongoing focus on driving organic growth as well as continued progress in our inorganic growth strategy, with the results of the first quarter including the contribution from a total of seven lottery markets. Meanwhile, we have remained focused on our responsibilities to all our stakeholders and on safer gaming.”

The chief summed up the massive growth in revenues by explaining that 17% came from pre-existing geographic markets as well as first-time contributions from the UK market. The Camelot purchase included not only Camelot UK but also the Camelot LS Group. The latter operates the massive US Illinois lottery under a private management agreement there.

He explained how existing market success was further powered by digital channels as well as physical retail sales and the falling off of some Covid-19 impacts from last year that is no longer affecting current sales.

“We once again saw the resilience of demand for our products, even in an environment where consumer spending remains under pressure. We continued to deliver strong margins and generate robust free cash flow, reflecting our favorable cost structure and focus on cost and capital efficiency. The completion of two landmark acquisitions in the first quarter underscores our continued success in executing our inorganic growth strategy. The acquisition of Camelot UK, the current operator of the UK National Lottery, supports the successful delivery of the National Lottery through 2023 and over the next decade.“

Camelot LS was owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board of Canada prior to Allwyn’s acquisition. In early December 2021, the Czech gambling group then known as Sazka Entertainment began to conduct business under the corporate identity of Allwyn for all of its properties assets when named as the “preferred bidder” for the fourth UK National Lottery license.

In a short time, the former Czech Republic-based company (now headquartered in Switzerland) has been operating in new markets globally it has included the US through the Illinois lottery, its first foray into the US lottery landscape once wholly dominated by Scientific Games and GTECH/Lottomatica (now IGT via acquisition).

Chvatal explained the importance of expanding lottery operations into such markets: “<Camelot LS Group provides> interesting strategic optionality through its in-house iLottery technology.”

In financial dealings, he noted: “The continued strength of our financial performance supported our successful financing activities after the end of the quarter, with Allwyn issuing €665m and $700m long-dated bonds in a single transaction. This financing represented our first US-dollar bond issuance, further diversifying our sources of funding, as well as significantly extending our debt maturities and further simplifying our capital structure.”

In closing, Chvatal said he was very pleased with the start to 2023 and said it placed the company well for continued success throughout the rest of the year as well as for “the next chapters of our growth story.”

Source: Allwyn Entertainment reports 80 per cent jump in revenues with addition of Camelot G3 NewsWire, June 15, 2023

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Camelot, the incumbent operator of Britain’s National Lottery, reported record-breaking ID check rates across its shops in the United Kingdom. The company noted that the results attest to its commitment to safer gambling.

As part of its Operation 18 mystery shopper program, Camelot made more than 11,600 retailer visits. The results of this initiative demonstrated that a whopping 92% of retailers did indeed ask customers for ID as proof of age on their first visit.

Camelot called these results “impressive,” especially when considering that the minimum age to participate in the National Lottery was increased from 16 to 18 in 2021.

In addition to its Operation 18 program, Camelot also ran a variety of other Responsible Retailing training initiatives. As an example, the company’s Retail Team contacted National Lottery retailers more than 160,000 times, offering advice on preventing underage gambling and supporting healthy play.

Speaking of healthy play, the company’s Healthy Play mystery shopping initiative saw employees make over 4,000 store visits, educating retailers on the signs of potential gambling harm. Luckily, 94% of the visited shops passed the healthy play knowledge check, highlighting the importance of regular communication.

To top it off, Camelot reported a strong end of the year with 88% of retailers saying that they were content with the level of service Camelot’s dedicated retailer hotline provided.

Alex Green Praised the Results

Alex Green, Camelot’s retail director, commented on the results, thanking all National Lottery retailers for their dedication to prioritizing player safety. He lauded their efforts in complying with the recently changed age of play, saying that the impressive results of the Operation 18 campaign attest to the hard work of both retailers and Camelot’s team.

Green added that age checks are only one form of player protection. However, retailers’ knowledge of underage play and healthy play was equally impressive, as attested by the mystery shopper programs.

About the Program

Camelot’s Operation 18 is a mystery shopping program that fields youthful adults (since using minors would be against the law) who visits shops across the country to check whether retailers would ask them for ID.

If a retailer sells to these mystery customers three times without demanding an ID first, the National Lottery terminal would be suspended and may even get removed. Luckily, the results of the program show that most of the shops across the United Kingdom are committed to following the rules.

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